


Sanctuary

by aretia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-07 22:30:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17969267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aretia/pseuds/aretia
Summary: On the eve of his birthday, Shiro can’t find any time to relax. Ulaz is the only one who can pull him away from the hectic party preparations, and give him a gift that truly makes Shiro feel loved.





	Sanctuary

**Author's Note:**

> My gift for PTPGMaria for the Shiro birthday exchange!

“The preparations are almost complete!” chirped the Galra servant, proudly gesturing to the ballroom decorations.

“It looks fantastic. You did a great job,” Shiro congratulated her. “Now, you should probably go home and get some rest before the big day tomorrow.”

“No can do. There’s still so much that the prep crew has to do,” she replied, shaking her head.

Shiro was genuinely surprised. With how hard the crew had been working, he had assumed that they’d already gotten everything done ahead of schedule. “There is? What is it?”

“The first thing we have to do is clear the parade route…” she began. She went on and on, listing off preparations that had already been done and still needed to be done, and Shiro’s eyes glazed over a little bit while listening to her. 

Normally, Shiro would be excited for his birthday, but he couldn’t explain the feeling of dread that slithered into the pit of his stomach at the thought of the events tomorrow. He had spent weeks overseeing the preparations, and now he had only a few short hours to rest before the celebration would begin. 

He almost couldn’t wait for his birthday to be over. This was his first one since marrying into the Galra royal family and moving into the palace, and it was going to be a bigger celebration that he had ever experienced in his life. In the morning, he was going to ride a float in a parade so that he could wave to all the residents of the kingdom. Then, there would be a feast where he would accept gifts from hundreds of loyal subjects. Then, he would spend hours getting put into the outfit that the tailors had spent weeks creating for him, including many sessions where he had to stand so still that his muscles ached and get pricked by dozens of pins. Once he was dressed, he would spend all night at the ball, and Shiro was expecting to spend most of his time there making speeches and mingling with important visitors. 

If Shiro was being honest with himself, the only thing he was looking forward to about his birthday was dancing with his husband at the ball. The prince had been called away on an important diplomatic mission, and he was not expected to return until the evening of Shiro’s birthday. He would miss most of the celebration, but he had promised to come back in time for the ball, and then just for a moment, everything else would fade away when they were on the dance floor.

Shiro’s dreamy smile and vacant stare didn’t deter the Galra servant from rambling, but something cut her off mid-sentence. A jolt ran through her and her eyes went wide, before a grin spread across her face like she was barely holding back giggles. “I had better get back to work!” she said, waving goodbye to Shiro as she turned around and dashed off. 

“Okay, good luck,” Shiro called after her, confused. He didn’t even have a chance to turn around before he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist, and a chin nuzzle against the top of his head. “Whoa!” Shiro exclaimed in surprise. He twirled around in Ulaz’s arms, looking up at the smiling face of the Prince of the Galra, his husband. 

Shiro stood on his tiptoes to greet Ulaz with a peck on the lips. “You’re back early,” he said.

“How could I miss my husband’s birthday?” said Ulaz. “I flew back a day early, and I trust that the rest of the delegation will handle the mission in my absence.” 

Shiro let out a laugh. “You’re so reckless,” he said. He squeezed Ulaz tighter in his arms. “I missed you so much.” 

“I missed you too,” Ulaz replied, reaching his hand up to stroke Shiro’s hair. “How go the preparations for the celebration tomorrow?”

“It’s going well. Everyone is working really hard, and everything seems to be going smoothly,” Shiro explained. He breathed out a quiet sigh through his nose, and his shoulders sagged ever so slightly. 

Ulaz’s fingers migrated down to caress Shiro’s cheek. “And how are you, Shiro?” he asked tenderly.

“I’m fine. Why?” Shiro asked, although he knew he wouldn’t get away with deflecting the question, as he felt Ulaz’s eyes prying into his soul.

“I first noticed it when I was able to sneak up on you so easily. You are usually much more alert,” Ulaz commented. “You must be exhausted.”

“Yeah. I suppose so,” Shiro sighed, leaning against Ulaz’s chest, soothed by the purr rumbling through him. “There’s just so much to do. I want to make sure everyone gets the attention they need, but I’m getting overwhelmed,” Shiro admitted.

Suddenly, the tension in Shiro’s body melted away all at once, and he slumped against Ulaz. He felt his knees buckle as he was overcome with a wave of affection for his husband. This was what he loved most about Ulaz: the way he was always in tune to the subtle changes in his mood and knew how to anticipate his needs. Shiro knew he had a tendency to help everyone else at the expense of his own comfort until he burned himself out, but Ulaz saw through his façade. He could sense when Shiro was headed down that path and urge him to rest, showing him the love and care that Shiro sometimes denied himself.

“It’s your birthday. Try not to work so hard pleasing everyone that you forget to enjoy it yourself,” said Ulaz, holding him like he knew that he was the only thing keeping Shiro on his feet.

“Thanks, Ulaz. I’ll try,” said Shiro. “It will be easier now that you’re here. Please don’t leave my side tomorrow.”

“I promise, I won’t,” said Ulaz. “Is there anything else I can do to make you feel more comfortable?”

“It’s just that I’m not used to this royal celebration thing, and having so much attention on me. I would be more comfortable at the kind of birthday party I used to have, just hanging out with my friends from Earth.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” said Ulaz. “In the meantime, you should get some rest before tomorrow. But there’s something I want to show you first.” Ulaz took Shiro’s hand, and led him out of the ballroom, down winding hallways, to what seemed like a dead end. Ulaz pressed his hand against a panel on the wall, and a door slid open, revealing a secret elevator. Shiro gasped softly as he and Ulaz stepped inside, and the elevator hummed as it carried them to the top floor. When they emerged from the elevator, Shiro’s jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide with wonder.

On top of the palace’s central tower was a geodesic observatory dome. Shiro danced around the room, craning his neck up to look out the windows at the stars. Everywhere he looked, he could see colorful galaxies full of sparkling stars, the unfamiliar constellations of his new home spread out before him like he had never seen before.

The room was illuminated only by the stars, and empty of furniture except for a large bed in the center. Shiro flopped down on top of the sheets, still staring up at the sky. “This is amazing,” Shiro breathed.

“I thought you would like it,” said Ulaz, as he sidled up to him and sat down beside Shiro on the bed. “This observatory was built as a place for the royal family to find solitude. Now that you are a member of our family, I thought that you should have access to it as well.” 

Ulaz reached into his robe and pulled out a tiny chip. He opened a flap on Shiro’s robot arm and pressed the chip inside it. The seams of Shiro’s arm glowed purple for a moment, and then the cover sealed over it. “That is the key to access this room through the panel on the elevator. If you ever get overwhelmed tomorrow, or any time, you can come here to have some space to yourself.”

Shiro interlaced his fingers with Ulaz’s. “Thank you, Ulaz. This is the best birthday present I could ever ask for.”

“I’m glad,” Ulaz said with a low chuckle, leaning over to kiss Shiro’s temple. “Happy birthday, Shiro.” 

Ulaz slid into the bed, and pulled the covers up over himself and Shiro. Shiro snuggled up to him, resting his head on top of Ulaz’s chest, pointing at the constellations. Ulaz told him about the ones he recognized, and Shiro couldn’t wait to spend hours in this observatory learning about the more obscure ones. 

His excitement couldn’t prevent exhaustion from weighing down his eyelids after a long day of overexerting himself. Shiro rolled over and pressed his cheek against Ulaz’s chest, draping his arm over Ulaz’s waist. “Night,” he murmured.

Ulaz wrapped his arm around Shiro’s shoulder. His hand brushed the hair out of Shiro’s face, and then he kissed him on the forehead. “Goodnight, my dear prince,” Ulaz replied. Shiro let his eyes drift closed, basking in the quiet moment with Ulaz until he dozed off.


End file.
